More commentary on Iraqi election

Another interpretation on the Iraqi election. A common thread...the massive enthuiastic turnout in Shiite areas is a double-edged sword. It's legitimate to say that this election represents the wishes of the majority of Iraq's people (Kurds, and Shiites, although Sunnis are not represented), but it's duplicitous to state that it's a legitimation of the American invasion. The Shiite heavy-turnout is directly related to the belief in Shiite areas that the fastest way to get out the occupiers is to vote in a Shiite government.

in other words, Sunnis rebel against the occupiers through violence, Shiites rebel against the occupier through the ballot....but the operative word is REBEL.

Uncovering the Facts of the recent Iraqi election

The American mass media is woefully inadequate in providing contextual information on the recent Iraqi election. Hopefully, I will be able to supplement the largely ceremonial and celebratory mood in the American mass media with some "no BS" data on the Iraqi election.

The article linked above does a good job of highlight the first preliminary results of this election.

Robert Fisk: Shiites vote U.S. out...not legitimate invasion

Just in case the happy footage on CNN fools you into thinking Iraq's election has legitimized the American brutal invasion...Robert Fisk warns the U.S. and Britain in knowing that the Shiite vote that is being paraded as a sign of "victory" for the U.S. mission is actually a vote AGAINST the occupation.

The Iraqi invasion is still illegitimate, the occupation illegitimate, and no amount of American media "whitewash" is going to change that.

We should be concerned with how to get out of Iraq, and leave the issue of Iraqi democracy for the Iraqis to decide...they've gone to the polls, they've chosen their representatives...let that National Assembly decide the new shape of Iraqi political society....our invasion...illegitimate as it was and STILL is...is no longer needed.

King of Swaziland shows his absolute greed

Look at this moron...the King of Swaziland. An absolute despot, uncaring of the poverty that the people of Swaziland suffer. If countries wish to have Constitutional monarchies for the ceremonial value and tradition of having a King, that's fine. But, in this day and age...no human being should have to life in dictatorial societies...especially with this type of King.

Put him on the list (along with Kim Jong Il, and other dictatorial despots) that need to go.

87.5% of Iraqis NOT voting in election

Great democracy...only 12.5% of the English ex-patriate community voting...

When is it enough to discard the "optimist" approach? When are we going to call a spade a spade? This is not democracy...this is trying to justify an illegal war with a laughable and futile exercise in electoral processes....let's not confuse the two. When 87.5% of a safe and secure ex-patriate community doesn't vote...what do we expect of those actually in Iraq?

Iraqis in UAE reluctant to vote

Why is that the only show of public "optimism" about this election comes from old white men in the United States? Even in the safety of England or the United Arab Emirates, Iraqis are not happy with their choices or with what is going on in their country.

Homosexuality is genetic

A double-edged sword....on the one hand it confirms the homosexual claim that homosexuality is not "chosen" but biological...on the other hand, it lends scientific credence to calling homosexuals "genetic mutations", "genetic diseases" or "genetic aberrations". And will happen if we can identify how to stop the gay genes? Will parents abort children with them? Will they want to manipulate their fetuses so as to avoid gay genes?

Friday, January 28, 2005

Dick Cheney offends Auschwitz commemorators

More from "heart-attack Central"...Dick Cheney...look at this goddamn fool...can somebody take this stupid Wyoming "nerf-herder", give him a solid ass whupping, and then tell him..."hey moron...it's a solemn, formal dress event...you idiot!

Spelling bee cancelled because of No Child Left Behind Act

Pinnacle of absurdity folks...a spelling bee is cancelled at a school because, get this...there can only be ONE winner and that would "leave the other students behind" and would run afoul of the "No Child Left Behind Act".

Might as well dismantle competitive sports, intellectual ventures...hell..bring down capitalism...after all, it's based on competition..and it leaves a heck of a lot of people behind.

This is what happens...folks...when idiocy and lack of common sense is the rule, rather than the exception.

PNAC releases new letter to Congress

The Scum Of the Earth...otherwise known as the Project For A New American Century (the intellectual nexus of the neoconservative movement which controls our current War on Terror and imperial American foreign policy) has just drafted a letter to Congress.

In a nutshell, they are asking for more troops and for America to increase its imperialism.

CIA says that America's dominance will end in 15 years

Best news all day...now...before you go off calling me anti-American...I don't believe any country in the world should dominate ANY other country. I believe in democracy, in equality, and fair government among nations...America has proven to be drunk with imperialist power...and it must be humbled...a world with a respectful America playing its collaborative part is a world I want to live in...not a world under the heel of America's boot.

Guantanamo Torture Techniques

See...i don't understand Americans...they throw fits about moral values and "traditional marriage"...but then create the most brutal psychological and physical torture techniques, emphasizing the use of sexual psychological pressure on men who think it is taboo to have contact with other women outside of their marriage. In other words...conscientious, loyal, traditional marriage men. Men with honor, with respect for their wives...

Do we need a more eloquent representation of the plague to the world that is American culture than this symbolic comparison between the deprivations of American soldiers vs. the honor of Muslim men? Granted...the Muslim side are not all boy scouts...they got their beheaders, tribal revengers, female clitoris mutilators, etc. But...what the hell does this abuse of a man's honor accomplish?

America is severely depraved and sick...I'll never pledge loyalty to it...not to this barbarism...

American soldiers urge Iraqis to vote; Iraqis not very receptive

Any resemblance between what this article describes and the scene in the movie, "Mars Attacks" when martians are crawling Earth cities with loudspeakers blasting "don't run...we are your friends", while firing at humans...is PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

Get the hint, American soldiers...if they are ripping posters down...THEY DON'T LIKE YOU.

American soldiers urge Iraqis to vote; Iraqis not very receptive

Any resemblance between what this article describes and the scene in the movie, "Mars Attacks" when martians are crawling Earth cities with loudspeakers blasting "don't run...we are your friends", while firing at humans...is PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

Get the hint, American soldiers...if they are ripping posters down...THEY DON'T LIKE YOU.

Website shows photos of Iraqi dead; Iraqis protest

More of that great American moral values that we keep hearing about. Soldiers in Iraq have been posting what amounts to "trophy" pics on a website, with belittling captions (of the dead posted). Many pictures of Iraqi dead, with captions such as "road kill". The website has (righteously) angered an Iraqi expatriate community in Australia.

Put this one in the already plenty full "Why We Lost Iraq AND we're brutal assholes" category.

U.S. provoking Iran...violating sovereignty

In case there is any confusion in history about who started the upcoming Iran conflict...read this and Seymour Hersh's piece on how we have special ops teams in Iran casing potentially targets.

This is a violation of sovereignty, folks. This is cassus belli. Iran is within it's international law rights to blow those aircrafts out of the sky...what would the U.S. do if Iranian jets were flying on American airspace?

Professor in controversy over statements in essay - 9/11

I will try to find a copy of this essay...but...from what's quoted, I don't think this man is wrong.

If the Iraqi people are collateral damage...so are the 9/11 victims...and the Pentagon deaths are military targets...just like the deaths of military officials in Iraq, Yugoslavia, or any other American bombing are "military targets" as well.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Poll on CNN.com reveals reluctance of American public to spread freedom

Would you be willing to sacrifice your own life to create a democracy in Iraq?

Yes

9%

6641 votes

No

91%

63282 votes

Total: 69923 votes

Look at this copy/paste at 8:08 P.M. on Jan 26th...this is an ongoing poll (may change later). The true face of the American public's willingness to "export" democracy...everyone's a "support the troops" believer in the President's mission to "spread democracy"....as long as someone else does the dying. Very American....

Women STILL don't have legislation to give them emergency contraception

I can't believe I'm even reading this story...you mean Congress TRIED to legislate emergency contraception for women...and the Bill failed?

That's right folks...get to know your, unfriendly neighborhood conservative congressmen/women. Making it impossible for rape victims to avoid the double trauma of giving birth to the child of the rapist.

Time Magazine: Can Iraq Rule Itself?

Well...seems Time Magazine joins the intellectual (and racial, to be quite honest) paternalism that has ruled the debate on Iraq's "self-determination".

The title of the article? "Can Iraq Rule Itself?"Hmmm....wasn't Iraq the cradle of civilization? The land of Mesopotamia...where Cuneiform and the first codified laws were written? Hasn't it ruled itself for THOUSANDS of years.

Beat that, U.S.! Your NOT EVEN 400 years old....

On a side note, I'd like to announce that i'm officially blogging this page using Mandrake Linux 10.1 Official. I'm quite impressed with it...let's see if I can free myself (without any training) from Microsoft Windows. So far, I installed Mozilla Firefox from online tar zip files...so...i'm learning...i'm learning...

Coalition of the Willing scrapped in June 2004

The Coalition of the Willing was actually scrapped in June of last year...but the news come out now. Wonder why the mainstream media gave the Bush regime cover on this issue...you'd think such news would be important to report THEN.

I find it notable that of the Coalition of the Willing, 15 of the countries did not want to be named in it. I thought that when what you are doing is noble, honorable, and right, you want others to know you are participating. Do you see any countries hiding their membership in the Tsunami relief action?

Could it possibly be because even these 15 countries KNEW that what they were joining up to was a colonial occupation, bereft of credibility, and would probably face the wrath of their own peoples if they knew their governments were involved? Is that the type of democracy the U.S. wishes to export? The type of democracy that allows 90% of a people to be against a war, while its government joins into it?

Coalition of the Willing, my butt.....when you are hiding out your membership, you're not really that "willing" are you? And, I wonder why it was scrapped...could it be because its members were dropping out of the Iraqi campaign like flies?

More historical evidence to condemn the U.S. invasion as a war crime and one of the biggest blunders the United States ever got itself into.

GOP events being changed from Lincoln to Reagan

Hey...they got every right to do what the hell they want with their own party events...but just for the sake of historical accuracy...Reagan will NEVER be of the stature of Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, FDR, and Kennedy are probably the three greatest U.S. presidents, way beyond the reach of the others. Reagan's legacy in foreign affairs, as well as his horrible trickle down politics here in the U.S. are more than enough to disqualify him as a "great" president. Only in the minds of foolish GOP activists, who actually believe HE destroyed the Soviet Union (and not the Soviet Union's own stagnation and implosion) is he comparable to Abraham Lincoln.

Device can see through walls!

This is most likely the scientific discovery of the century...what actually is the physics that is allowing this man's device to see through walls...what physical laws has he tapped into to allow that...and to cause the side-effects that he says the Angel Light causes (turned off electricity, harmful effects to living things) etc.

Bush rhetoric doesn't match reality: Wash Post.

The Washington Post is criticizing Bush's rhetoric as not matching reality.

In layman's terms...they are calling him a hypocrite.

Kudos to the Wash. Post for having the courage to state it.

Bush's Words On Liberty Don't Mesh With Policies

U.S. Maintains Close Ties With Repressive Nations

By Glenn Kessler and Robin Wright

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, January 21, 2005; Page A25

President Bush's soaring rhetoric yesterday that the United States will promote the growth of democratic movements and institutions worldwide is at odds with the administration's increasingly close relations with repressive governments in every corner of the world.

Some of the administration's allies in the war against terrorism -- including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan -- are ranked by the State Department as among the worst human rights abusers. The president has proudly proclaimed his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin while remaining largely silent about Putin's dismantling of democratic institutions in the past four years. The administration, eager to enlist China as an ally in the effort to restrain North Korea's nuclear ambitions, has played down human rights concerns there, as well.

Bush's speech "brought to a high level the gap between the rhetoric and reality in U.S. foreign policy," said Thomas Carothers, co-author of a new book, "Uncharted Journey: Promoting Democracy in the Middle East."

"The rhetoric is seamless, but the policy is very muddled. In fact, the war on terrorism has pushed the U.S. to be friendlier with nondemocratic regimes," said Carothers, director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Administration officials say Bush's goals are a "generational challenge" and should not be judged by the results of one or even two terms. In the speech yesterday, Bush said that "success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people." But often in the first term, Bush's objectives on democracy were set aside for more pressing and immediate concerns, such as need for cooperation in the war on terrorism.

Autocratic rulers in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, moreover, would be likely to be replaced by opponents of U.S. policy if free and fair elections were held there today.

Since shortly before the invasion of Iraq, the president has advocated democracy in the Middle East in a series of bold statements and speeches. But the follow-up has often fallen short. In a speech before the National Endowment for Democracy on Nov. 6, 2003, Bush pointed to Egypt, ruled for almost a quarter of a century by President Hosni Mubarak, and declared that the Arab country "should show the way toward democracy in the Middle East."

But Mubarak, who appears likely to run for president this year in yet another tightly controlled election, has sidestepped possible U.S. pressure to reform by providing key assistance in bids to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To this day, the government of Egypt retains veto power over which nongovernmental groups can receive any of the nearly $2 billion in annual U.S. aid.

Egypt has helped the war on terrorism in less savory ways. Bush expressed support yesterday for "democratic reformers facing repression, prison or exile." But in late 2001, U.S. authorities forcibly transferred an Australian citizen to Egypt, where, he alleges, he was tortured for six months before being flown to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Human rights experts said Bush's commitment to freedom is undercut by such actions, as well as the administration's treatment of detainees and terrorist suspects at Guantanamo, the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, was struck by the fact that Bush mentioned "liberty" repeatedly but did not use the phrase "human rights" as an overriding goal.

"The decision to speak in terms of liberty instead of human rights was deliberate," Roth said. "Liberty is an abstract concept, but human rights bind everyone, including the Bush administration. It's easy to say I'm for liberty but difficult to say I'm for human rights when he's overseeing what we know is a conscious policy of coercive interrogation, including inhuman treatment and sometimes torture."

During her confirmation hearings this week, Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice also stressed that she would focus on spreading democracy and freedom around the globe. Several senators questioned her on the inconsistency of the administration's approach, notably Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.). He challenged her to explain why the administration looks the other way when it comes to countries with near-dictatorships, such as Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, while heaping scorn on nations with some level of elections, such as Venezuela and Iran.

"Some of this is a matter of trend lines and where countries have been and where they are now going," Rice replied. Countries are "going to move at different speeds on this democracy test. I don't think there is any doubt about that. But what we have to do is that we have to keep this item on the agenda."

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup, reneged last month on a promise to give up his title as army chief of staff, eliciting little protest from the administration. At her hearings, Rice said she felt that Pakistan has "come a long way" in recent years because Musharraf broke ties with the Taliban, which had ruled Afghanistan, and assisted in fighting al Qaeda.

The State Department, in its annual human rights report, has cited Uzbekistan for its "very poor" human rights record, including the torture and killing of citizens in custody for political reasons. There is virtually no freedom of speech or of the press.

Yet Bush met with Uzbekistan's president in 2002 and signed a declaration of "strategic partnership," and senior officials such as Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have visited the country. The United States "values Uzbekistan as a stable, moderate force in a turbulent region," the State Department said late last year.

Jennifer L. Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, said Bush's goals are laudable, but "my sense from the first four years is that you didn't see that consistency of message in all parts of the administration."

She noted that the administration signed free-trade deals with Morocco and Bahrain, which, after some promising steps toward political reforms, have begun to crack down on human rights groups.

Spongebob controversy continues

Don't these "Christians" have something Christian to do...like feeding the homeless or helping the poor....i'm getting tired of these pseudo Christian adventures/crusades they all seem to like so much.

Michael Powell leave the FCC

How about these news to cheer you up....Michael Powell, the son of Colin Powell, and the man most responsible for the recent deregulation of the communications industry (to the detriment of democracy and alternative sources of information), is leaving the FCC.

Good riddance, you sellout. Thanks for leaving us a more corporate ruled media...i'm sure that's gonna help our democracy!

Americans begin to look at Canada as new home

I echo their feelings...but...although it sickens me to hear the stupidities of my fellow neighbors...I'm a tough guy...I can deal with that. I'd rather have the warmer weather...and wait out the passing of the idiocy in this country.

Now...if things get more positively fascist, though...hmmm...I might have to move myself.

Giving the 2004 Inaugural Address the Surgical Treatment

The 2004 Inaugural Address by President Bush....and the surgical treatment.

"On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution, and recall the deep commitments that unite our country. I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed."

Just like you fulfilled the oath the first time, right? What ever happened to being a uniter? And the Constitution? Haven't we lost the most civil rights under your watch, not to mention the extension of the Patriot Act? Bullshit.

"At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical - and then there came a day of fire."

Lies. For the last half century, when was the last time war broke out on our borders? We've spent the last half century supporting puppet dictators in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (not to mention Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, Saddam Hussein, and Taliban Afghanistan...to just mention a few notables among the large list), and starting wars in OTHER countries that had never done anything to us (Vietnam, Nicaragua, Grenada, Panama, Iraq, etc.). And what's with the rhetoric of warfare...repose? Sabbatical? What is with you...is war the only metaphor you know...that the United States' destiny is to fight wars...repose...and then fight more wars?

We have seen our vulnerability - and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny - prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder - violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants, and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.Resentment and tyranny...funny...why are they resentful? And who imposed the tyranny? Who armed and funded the tyrants? Are we speaking of the Middle East here...where Hosni Mubarak, the Saudi Royal family, King Bashar Assad and Abdullah of Syria and Jordan, Saddam Hussein (ret.) and other Arab autocrats ruled tyrannically and we're funded and supported by us? Is that who "they" resent...their rulers and their rulers funders? Or were you speaking opportunistically of the "terrorists" you fight? Make that clear Mr. President.

Spare us the ideology of freedom...you know not what it looks like nor do you intend to "spread it" to other parts of the world. What you intend to spread is pro-Western governments, tyrannical as they may be, as long as they pursue some sort of "elections". You seek polyarchy, not democracy or freedom.

We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.

So...scale back your forces from the rest of the world...and let the rest of the world's countries decide how to implement "freedom" and "democracy" on their own terms and at their own pace...anything less is imperial occupation and subjugation...the opposite of the freedom you preach to want to "spread", as if it was some sort of sexually transmitted disease.

America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time.No one is fit to be master and slave? So why is Iraq (slave) occupied by the United States (master)? The Founders did not legitimize American imperial expansion or some sort of modern American "white man's burden". On the contrary...the Founders regularly warned us about interfering the affairs of other nations. What they expressed was a desire that America's example of just self government and democracy would be an inspiration for peoples everywhere to implement their OWN forms of democracy, with the United States as inspiration. Never did the Founders sanction imperial warfare, sanctions, pressure, and animosity as tactics to force our interpretation of democracy and freedom on others. Read the history books, Mr. President.

So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

An impossible dream...just like it was impossible for Marx to imagine a perfect world where just distribution of the wealth was possible. We can do our hardest to approximate this equality...but human nature is imperfect. Who defines "democratic movements"? Is a democratic movement the actions of Prime Minister Allawi in Iraq...or the world social movement participated in by people like Noam Chomsky, Arundhati Roy, and other activists? Which is democratic? What happens to the groups that you define as not democratic? Are they to be opposed? The problem with a King, such as yourself, in defining what characterizes a democratic movement is that the very defining process (that is, the King labeling the movements) is undemocratic. You, sir, have no right to define what is democratic or what is not. The people do. The peoples of the world, in their own nations, will define the social orders they are comfortable with...with their passive acquiesence or active resistance to existing and future ones. YOU do not decide it.

"This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way."Glad you realize that, Mr. President. Let us see if your rhetoric matches your actions...so far...they haven't. You've proven yourself to be partial to imposing America's will on others.

"The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations. The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause."

Who defines the oppressed? Are the Iraqis under U.S. occupation oppressed, or the Iraqis under Saddam Hussein oppressed? Or are the Iraqis under YOUR occupation AND Saddam Hussein oppressed? You have no legitimacy to speak for the oppressed, Mr. President. You've shown yourself to be equally oppressive as the dictators of history."My most solemn duty is to protect this nation and its people against further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm."

Of whom have you spoken? Bin Laden? He's free and hiding. Of the Iraqis? They are killing our troops on a daily basis...they have not cowered in the face of the strongest army in the world. To whom do you address your pseudo-macho threat?

We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies."Persistantly clarify"? Who died and made us God of the world? I take that back...obviously the victims of our occupying invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Who are we clarifying to? America seems to pretend these days that the Iraqis love THEIR American-made chains...or that the Iraqis enjoy being smeared in their own feces, made to sit in "harmless, cheerleader" pyramids. And if only you would heed your own words about bullies...and listen to what the victims of your "bullying" say on a daily basis. Didn't a recent world poll label your 2nd term a bad harbinger for the future of the world? That sounds like the collective groan of a world tired of your duplicity and brutality, Mr. President.

"We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty."

But no reform in ours? Or better said...only Christianofascist reform in our government. What dignity are we speaking about? The one in Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay? Upon what foundation of moral superiority are we attempting to lecture other countries and their treatment of their citizens? We are no better. Yes...there is a consensus of human rights that many organizations and peoples believe in. Some of them are enshrined in the U.N.'s Political and Economic Human Rights Covenants and in the Geneva Conventions, and the Nuremberg Principles. But, your administration, Mr. President, more than any other in American history, has stood for dismantling these documents and their rights. So...where do you get the legitimacy to speak on human rights when you don't practice it?

Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty - though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery. Liberty will come to those who love it.

No, Mr. President. We question only American imperialism and American imposition of its views on others. It is because we believe in the appeal of liberty that we do not pretend to impose our versions on others. Inherent in liberty is the right of all peoples to freely choose their destiny and the destiny of their societies...without the oppression of a mustache-wearing dictator...nor the dictatorship of a suit-wearing Chimp. One thing you are right...liberty will come to those who love it...love it enough to challenge any force withholding it...whether it'd be State Secret police...or the armed forces of a foreign occupier. We see this everyday in Iraq, Mr. President.

All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.

Tell it to the Rwandans...or the Palestinians...or the South Africans...did we not ignore their oppression, and continue to do so? Wasn't it your partner-in-crime, Mr. Cheney, who voted against protesting apartheid in South Africa or who called Nelson Mandela? How are we supposed to believe you, Mr. President? The company you carry does not increase your credibility, nor do your actions in your 1st term.

The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it."

The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them. Start on this journey of progress and justice, and America will walk at your side.

More of the paternalism, huh Mr. President? What is the world to you...children? Is America the father, and the world the children? A world that has existed for millenia...to be led by a 400 year old nation? Did you trust your people and the people of the world when they advised you not to go to war in Iraq? Did you, Mr. President?

And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship, we rely on your counsel, and we depend on your help. Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies. The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat.

You have only yourself to blame, Mr. President. It was your arrogance and unilateralism that pushed them away. You called them Old Europe...or not being a member of the "Coalition of the Willing". You did that, Mr. President. YOU. You are now reaping what you sowed.

From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America, which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to abandon. Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom. And as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.Words that, if spoken by a credible person, might actually mean something. But, since they are uttered by you, they are devoid of any credibility. You have lit a fire...a fire in the minds of men. You awakened the world to the possibility that another Hitler is growing, and another Hitler can happen...even in dormant America. Yes...a fire is growing...

A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause - in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy ... the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments ... the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives - and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.

Yes...but when that intelligence has not suited your pre-conceived ideas...you've ignored it...or worse...fired the messengers. Is that not why you have sent your Angel of Death, Porter Goss, into the CIA? To purge it of your enemies? And how have you personally honored the deaths of Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan? Have you visited their funerals? Have you allowed America to grieve their deaths by publishing information and photos of their caskets? Empty words, Mr. President...empty words.

All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real, and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself - and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country, but to its character.Yes...we Americans have seen this idealism. We've seen how fragile life is in the countless deaths of Iraqi civilians and our soldiers with them. We've seen how the courage of the Iraqi insurgents triumphs over our preconceived, neocon plans for Mid-East domination and their oil. We've seen how the inalienable spirit of liberty, nationalism, and dignity continue, on a daily basis, to trump colonial plans from America. We've seen how poor villagers, armed with creative explosives, defeat the strongest military in the world. We've seen how they've transformed Iraq into a quagmire in which not even the protected Green Zone is a safe haven. Iraq is no mission accomplished, no victory for us...Iraq's is a victory for the rest of the world. Another Vietnam that did not allow the United States to impose its will on them.

In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act, and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time. To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance - preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal.

Why do you sully our great human aspirations with your dreams for corporate, capitalist rule? Why do you seek to define our greatest desires in market terms? Why do you seek to fool us about a crisis in social security, when we know that our current economic woes are manufactured by your ill-conceived tax reductions in a time of war? Your words are hollow, Mr. President.

In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character - on integrity, and tolerance toward others, and the rule of conscience in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self. That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before - ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

How about this time-tested ideal..."do onto others as you would want them to do onto you". Remember that principle, Mr. President? By its eternal logic, we deserve all the calamities that will befall us....have we not exported brutality, violence, and occupiation? Have we not "done to others"...and will have "done to us" the same? What was 9/11...if not the resolution, after decades of American imperialism abroad...of this eternal cycle? Karma, the Golden Rule...whatever you call it...that's what we are speaking about, when we speak of American history and the relevance of 9/11.

In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.

Except those that are not lily white...or male...or rich...or heterosexual. What do we tell homosexuals among us, who live now ridiculed by the rising intolerance grown from the anti-gay marriage movements in various American states? What do we tell Muslims in America, who have to live knowing that 40%+ of their neighbors wouldn't mind seeing them in American concentration camps (as we did to the Japanese during World War II)? What do we tell the African-American community...yet again disenfranchished in Ohio and other parts of the country? What do we tell to the thousands of "collateral damage" we inflict in the world? What about THEIR worth? Mr. President...your words continue to be empty of meaning.

From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication, the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our generation advance the cause of freedom? And did our character bring credit to that cause?

Indeed that is the question. How will history look upon America during these years? The verdict is clear, Mr. President. We lost our way. The world's opinion is virtually unanimous on this. They know it. We know it. YOU know it.

These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great purposes - and I will strive in good faith to heal them. Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free.Of course we have this unity when faced with disasters...usually it takes three full days to concretize a response, no Mr. President? And usually, the thought process is along these lines, "This could be a great opportunity for us" (Condoleeza Rice). The tsunami wasn't a great tragedy to her...it was an opportunity for us. An opportunity to attempt to heal wounds TOO deep to be healed by opportunistic rhetoric and action. That's the American mindset, in a nutshell.

We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation; God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order of the ages; when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty; when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner "Freedom Now" - they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty.God has not chosen America to practice what it has done. Do not tie your vile plans to him/her/it. America has become what it is because of the combined, stinking cocktail of Christianofascist fundamentalists, neocon imperialists, and greedy corporate vampires. It's this unholy concoction that made America lose its way...that and the ignorance of its people, forever afraid, and forever unwilling to reflect and learn from its mistakes. God had no part in this.

When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, "It rang as if it meant something." In our time it means something still. America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength - tested, but not weary - we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.

Beginning with your removal and the purification, by water or fire, of America from its festering plague of fascist intolerance. Rest easy, Mr. President...the greatest achievement of freedom is yet to come. The people will see to that.

Cheney offers LAME excuse for Iraq

This man is unable to admit his wrongs...what lame explanation...this one deserves the surgical treatment.

Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he overestimated the pace of Iraq's recovery from the U.S.-led invasion because he didn't realize the lasting devastation wrought by Saddam Hussein on his people after the first Gulf War.

ok, first off...Iraq's current problems are not the result of Saddam Hussein. That's a pretty lame attempt at blaming the insurgency and the post-war problems on a man that was hiding out in a spiderhole and now is in your custody. The insurgency is directly related to the bumbling actions of the American imperial army. What used to be a populace possibly open to the friendly acquiescence of a friendly occupation of the United States, while it reconstructed Iraq...became an enraged population at the sign of horrible reconstruction, abusive American soldiers and tactics, Abu Ghraib, and constant disrespect to their national, social, moral, and religious values. There's only ONE entity to blame for Iraq's turn for the worse...and that's the United States, it's leaders, and its soldiers. What's next....excusing the horrible Iraq War on an unappreciative Iraqi people...haven't heard that yet in the mainstream...but it floats in underground right-wing websites. When will it dawn on you that the problem is YOU guys in Iraq?

Asked to name his mistakes in planning the war in Iraq, Cheney said he had not anticipated how long it would take the Iraqis to begin running their own country.Utterly patternalistic, horribly racist, and totally erroneous....Iraq's been a civilization for thousands of years...existing long before there was even a Cheney line of human beings in the world. With what gall do you, Mr. Cheney, attempt to paternalistic characterize Iraq's problems as the consequence of a people not ready to govern their affairs? As if Iraqis are an ignorant people, unable to structure social order, or organize their agriculture, science, education, economy, politics, etc. That's racist, discriminatory, and reflective of an American white superiority complex. It is reflective of an American ideology of having some sort of modernized "white man's burden"...a burden to "teach" the "savages" good government and democracy, as we see it. It also reflects that you cannot admit that it was a mistake to attempt to colonize another people, treat them like animals, ignore their values...and get away with it. They are now making American soldiers pay for their and YOUR arrogance. You should have read Frantz Fanon's "Wretched of the Earth", Mr. Cheney.

Cheney, interviewed hours before he was to take the oath of office for his second term, also said that Iran now tops the list of "the world's potential trouble spots."

Iran is pursuing "a fairly robust nuclear program" and has a history of sponsoring terrorism, he said. "That combination is of great concern."

The coup de grace....did he learn from his supposed "miscalculation"? No...he's going full steam ahead into another confrontation with a much stronger country than Iraq...going right at it with the same smug, racist, imperialist arrogance that landed us the Iraqi insurgency.

When these loons can't seem to understand what went wrong...it's time for the rational people to remove him from power. Impeach George BUSH and DICK Cheney.